good news, but while he was devoting so much time to their
service, they felt bound to cheer him for his disappointments, and the
effort was good for themselves also.

"Never mind; if you were Sherlock Holmes you wouldn't be yourself, and
you are a much pleasanter neighbour as you are," replied Philippa as she
lifted the little copper kettle from its stand and poured the water into
the teapot. She kept her face turned aside so that he might not see the
disappointment written upon it, and reminded herself for the hundredth
time that she could afford to be patient. Had not Barney promised to
keep straight for her sake? Perhaps, after all, this separation from
home might teach him its value as no amount of petting and spoiling
would have done, and on his return he would show a gentler, more
disciplined spirit. Philippa would never allow herself to believe that
this absence was more than temporary. She handed the plate of home-made
scones to the Hermit, smiling the while with some of her old mischievous
brightness.

"Hungry?"

"I had steak to-day. I find, on the whole, that steak suits me best,"
replied the Hermit, screwing up his eyes in judicial fashion. "It's so
tough that it takes a long time to despatch. Then, again, it takes ten
minutes to prepare. I calculate that I can while away a good half-hour
on a plate of steak, to say nothing of after-courses. In this way I get
several changes of companions, and I manage to work round the
conversation until I can bring in Barney's name, and inquire if they
happen to have met him. I am getting quite skilled in the exigencies of
small-talk."

"Poor thing, and you hate it so! It is noble of you to persevere as you
do, for I am sure there is nothing you dislike more."

"No, no; don't say that. It is good for me. I have studied books too
much, and men too little, in my life--to my own great loss. Before you
took me in hand a year ago I was a veritable hermit, and the old habits
cling about me still. I feel terribly rusty among all those bright,
alert young fellows, and they treat me as if I belonged to a different
species. Do you--do you notice anything pedantic in my manner?"

All four girls were in the room, but it was to Philippa that he
addressed the question; he had a way of looking at her when he spoke, of
which the girl herself was gratefully conscious. Theo and Madge--even
Hope herself--had a way of treating her with affectionate patronage as a
dea